Former OKC attorney pleads to fraud charges

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - A federal prosecutor says a longtime Oklahoma City attorney has pleaded guilty to fraud.

U.S. Attorney Danny Williams Sr. says 74-year-old John Merritt pleaded guilty in three separate cases of devising schemes that resulted in him illegally receiving more than $3 million.

Williams says Merritt pleaded guilty Monday in Oklahoma City federal court to using false financial statements and income tax returns to obtain a $1.75 million line of credit from a Tennessee finance company. Merritt also pleaded guilty to using false statements and tax returns for an $800,000 line of credit at Quail Creek Bank of Oklahoma City and to forging another attorney's signature on $500,000 in checks.

Merritt pleaded guilty in July to cheating clients - including children - out of money from trust funds and lawsuit settlements.

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